Law Of Life
by MRG101
Summary: Life can be tough, surprising unfair and yet rewording. It depends on the choices people make. Garth is an unsuccessful writer with an ordinary job and an ordinary life. What choices does he have to make to be content with the way his life is going?
1. July 15th

**A/N: **

**So here is mine piece to ME Fan Fiction. Hope you find it at least a little bit interesting. Keep in mind that this is an occasional thing. I have other things to do and other stories to write.  
**

**Thanks ****phnxgrl for beta and support.**

**All ME characters belongs to Bioware. No money made here, just doing this for fun.  
**

**Review, comment and enjoy the story.**

**...**

My name is not that important. But you can call me Garth, I'm a writer. Or, I like to pretend that I'm. I wrote a couple movie scripts and a few video-game articles. At that time I was working with a life-style magazine. But that Monday, I felt like total nobody. I've got the third rejection from the editor's assistant. I was a beginning novelist who was trying to make a name for myself. As if you probably have guessed by now, I wasn't very successful at that time either. Fate or whatever entity is watching over us didn't seem to be in any hurry to change my luck.

Yeah, this woman this editor's assistant must really hate me. She wanted to clarify things for me. The truth was I wasn't her biggest fan either. Though, I had to admit aside from her persona her figure wasn't that bad. Her pair legs and eyes alone could be extremely suggestive. Though, I was nowhere to the level of Richard Castle. So, now it's official: 15th July 2013 sucks hard in my book.

_C kind of crap, really…? We don't bother with this C kind of crap? What kind of crap? It is a crime story novel! _

However, I guess no matter how often people bitching about it. Now days, they rather enjoy some fancy Hollywood story instead of a good read. At least she had the mouth to say that to me three times. I can give her this much. When I thought about it, it wasn't that bad. Books were still pretty high thing. It was just the public taste that was changing. I really don't know. At this moment I was standing in front of my car thinking what to do. It was Monday afternoon 3pm. I had a day off and my Sister had judo practice in 30 minutes. I had nothing else to do so why not just go to visit her?

Let me tell you something. The city's traffic could be pretty challenging. So, I was glad when I finally got myself to the gym. I admire judo or let's say Japanese culture in general. Mostly, because for their sense of discipline and their large amount of history. I never got myself into anime though. I tried to watch it with a friend. It wasn't something that could I find interesting. I know it's pretty immature to compare the whole of Japanese History with Anime. I certainly feel pretty lame right now. Hey, it's my opinion.

Watching Jenn doing her thing was refreshing. It helped me to forget all my troubles. Guys were practicing for a challenge. I had to admit seeing my sister being all badass made me g-d damn proud. I occasionally did some sparing with my baddy Mike. I also did some self-defense stuff for research too. Seeing her team spirit made me want to change things. I was 25. I felt like I had missed everything.

I was kind of an introvert, when I was a kid. I couldn't see myself as the centre of the universe. I was mostly just a guy who was mostly shallow. I was willing to help out others in the end. I was lucky to have the people who cared about me. These included my parents, my buddy Mike, my Sisters: Jennifer and Kate. They were both now 17.

These people were my solid ground. Since beginning of this year, everything went downhill. My father left without a word and soon after my parents got divorced. I got myself a job in the life-style magazine. It was a dead end I was going pretty much nowhere. Workers were paid pretty shitty. The boss seemed pretty light headed to keep the business running successfully. Also obviously my writing apparently sucks.

"Hey big brother…Is it another bad day?" My blonde sister questioned as she sat next to me.

I blinked. I was in such a deep thought that I hadn't notice that the practice ended.

"It is that obvious?" I replied not looking anywhere in particular.

"You never visit me at my practice unless you are distracted." Jennifer answers truthfully.

I genially had to smile at that. She always knew what to say to make me feel better. Don't get it wrong she also knew how to piss me off too. She was like most siblings but the light side was strong with this one.

"Tell you what, get yourself change then we pick up Kate and I will drive you both home okay? I'll wait for you outside?" I asked looking to see if she would respond.

"Right, since today is Monday and all…" Jenn smirked then got up.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" I yelled after her.

….

I never understood need for a smoke. Some of my classmates found that amusing. I just never saw the point. I guess it was rare in my profession because every single person in my workplace was a smoker.

_So much for the life-style magazine... _

How come that most of the people who work in high places mostly have no idea about what work is? Could it be they just lost their interest in the end? Was it because of the difficulty of work? Did people just give up and start using shortcuts more? Could it be they just don't care to cover it up anymore? Like Kate for example: She's doing gymnastics and working really hard on each practice. The Coach never uses her. Why? Simply, just because some other kid's Dad is a sponsor.

"Garth, are you going to drive or should I just leave you here?" Jennifer asked with a smile from the backseat.

_Someone's stealthy today._

…

Did you ever felt like that you're got yourself into interrogation cell without knowing it? This is how I felt while I was driving with my sister in backseat.

"So, did you get knocked on your ass again?" Jenn asked curiously.

"Do you want to know how I got these scars?" I used my best Heath Leger´s impression while we were stopped at the red light.

"I just noticed a pattern here" my Sis points out. "Whenever, you're sparring with Mike your confidence is high up. Whenever you're doing something work-related, you're just barely hanging in there."

"Your point is?" I asked as the red light switched to green.

"Simple, your testicles don't functioning properly." She said kiddingly.

Blushing slightly, I just had to hit the accelerator hard just enough to throw her back in to seat. To think my Sister has that low opinion of me…Well we will see who the adrenaline junkie is.

…

I was grateful that the girls have their own things to talk about after we picked up my other Sister. After all, girls will always have stories. As for now it served as an enough distraction for me to recall some events. I just had to think about what Jenny said earlier. I was really hanging in there. The real reason why I was doing all this so called "research" like sparring with Mike, going to the shooting range and having my degree of psychology… All led up to my attempt to walk out of the 'Zone of Grey.' It wasn't an adrenaline rush per se. It was glimpse of purpose and each time I did it I felt content.

We finally reached our destination. I looked at the scenery. It was a peaceful place where people respected and cared for each other. It was to siblings, parents, grandparents and neighbors. I loved the view of the country side. When I got out of car I must stood in awe for a while. This was the place when I was born. I had so many memories being here. Some of them were good and others not as good. It was still a huge part of my life.

"Aren't you coming with us? Mom would be happy to see you." Kate asked hopefully.

I froze for a minute. Yes, I haven't seen her for a while. I also couldn't allow her to see me all mushy like this. She would see right thru me instantly. This kind of conversations also often brought up the tough subjects. I wasn't ready for it.

"Girls, another time all right?" I said feeling sick to my stomach. "I have to work tomorrow."

After goodbyes were said I could see tears that were just put it on hold in their eyes. I still managed to leave, not knowing that was probably the last time I would be able to see them.

…

_You are the bigger idiot, than I thought you originally are. And I know myself very well… _

This was my line of thought when I got to my apartment. It was a small flat. It was all I could barely afford on my salary. I was independent, hooray for me. After a quick shower I was made an attempt to make myself dinner. This included some really questionable looking pastry, couple slices of salami and a beer. I took a look around my kitchen, slash living room and slash bedroom. Under the couch was my obedient old keyboard. Perhaps I was too sentimental or just wanted to ease my mind as I reached under there to place it on my lap.

I wasn't exactly the virtuoso. Looking at this old stuff reminded me just how much I changed over these past few of years. Starting with the beginning riffs of _Yesterday, _I was smiling ear to ear. I remembered when I used to play this song with my father. More convenient song couldn't come to mind.

Suddenly, a crack of at door seemed to capture my attention completely. Rising from the couch then moving the keyboard off my lap I moved to the kitchen part of the room. The plan was to get shielded by the door and possibly surprise the attacker. Looking at it from the different perspective, it was pretty dumb move. Since the door was partly made from a glass whoever was on the other side could see my shadow move across.

In my defense, I have to say that I did react purely on instinct. I had only precious seconds to prep myself. Since, I assume you are able to read this. It meant that I survived somehow. _…Right? _


	2. Big Bang - Feeling In Practice

**A/N:**

**All ME characters belongs to Bioware and EA.**

**I don´t own anything, except Garth.**

**No money are being made here. Writing this story just for fun.**

**********Special thanks to ****phnxgrl** for doing the beta and correcting my mistakes.

**********Enjoy and tell me what you think. :-)**

**********...  
**

Do you know what a word practice means? It means an ability to learn or adapt for certain type of situation in a way so you are able to survive. The problem is whenever the word _practice _appears in a dictionary; it never seems to be flexible. No matter, how much stimulating the _practice _was or how ready anyone did appear to be, there was always some level of uncertainty when it came to the real thing.

As for me, I was frightened to say the least. My brain gave me thousand reasons why I should have just hid in the closet. Yeah, I had a basic knowledge of a hand to hand combat. I even knew how to use a handgun if need be. Though, it was all done for the research or to blow off some steam. Now, there were no dummies or paper targets or even a ring around to move. This was the real deal.

I managed to control my breath to the point where I was _reasonably _calm. I didn't want to break down right then and there. I had to have a clear mind. I needed to rely on things that I learnt over the time spent with Mike.

Lucky for me, everywhere was dark. I wouldn't call myself a depressed person. I just liked my alone time. It helped me focus. Right now, I was focused on the person in the hall. I guessed the height was around five-eight to six feet. It was similar to mine. So, that meant no major weight or height advantage on either end. This meant I would have to create one.

The plan was simple. It was to use the element of surprise, takedown the intruder then call the cops. It didn't take long until the door finally opened. It was a decision time. I could use the door to immobilize my acquaintance and do a take down. The other option was to risk it and tackle this person from behind. At that time I didn't trust myself to be strong enough, so I did choose an option A.

Using my full force I kicked through the glass breaking it. In that moment a thanks to Goth was in order, because I was never much of cleaner. It was either that or I just forgot to dispose my trainers. This doesn't mean that the act was painless. Far from it, I just kicked someone through the glass door! Yet, the consequences were slightly reduced.

My opponent however, walked into the room further. He didn't look like that he was stunned by the sharp glass pieces. He didn't seem to take any action to regain any ground either. Robbers use stealth to gain the advantage in order to overcome an obstacle. In this case, the obstacle was me. It was that or running. It was that simple just two options. Neither had happened here. Instead, the person stood just positioned into center of a room waiting in defensive stance. That moment made me rethink my approach. I just closed the door ignoring the loose glass around.

Quickly examining the situation I decided what to do next. I tried not to even flinch. There was the couch and TV in opposite corners of the room. There was a table in kitchen section currently was behind me. Right in front of me was my unknown guest plus the door to the bathroom. Not many ways to maneuver. Ok, at least one thing was certain. This wasn't a robbery.

Analyzing the situation only took a second. But I had to admit, my unknown guest was a big help. Dressed all in black, with the hood covering the face, it was intimidating. The posture looked military. That was more than wild guess on my part. I had visited Mike when he was at school once or twice. I hung out with his buddies. I also, heard some stories from my uncle. But no matter whether I was correct or not. I knew that I was screwed.

_´You're resourceful, but you thinking too much.´ _suddenly the voice in my head said.

Horrified I realized this wasn't mine conscientious voice of reason. This voice was clearly female. When that realization hit me, I ducked. I luckily didn't get hit by the quick sudden punch toward my face. Trying to catch the returning hand, I didn't pay the attention to the foot against my stomach. That got my attention or more precisely, the lack of air in my lungs did. Seconds later, I was put down to the ground by an uppercut. My face was sore and hurt badly. Some fighter I turned out to be.

_´Don't think, just trust your instincts.´_ the voice called out to me.

Looking up from the floor I saw that my opponent was still in the fighting stance waiting. I got up, slowly. I knew that Mike held himself back during our sparring sessions. Being put down like that? I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt my pride a little. I faced my trial and I attacked. First punch to the left side of the body – dodged. Fast kick between the legs was minor success. _Hoody _lost balance for a split second and I saw my opening. Unfortunately, I could not use it since my hand was caught again. This time to keep things interesting it was twisted. The pain shot through my hand. My brain was giving me the information about improper use of my right arm. I tried to use my left on the _Hoody´s _body as a distraction. I placed the kick to the knee.

We both fell on to the ground thanks to losing my balance. My keyboard even played some inappropriate tones, when we crashed. In that moment I felt something snapped and it wasn't the keyboard. To be honest, I didn't paid attention what it was. I was on top of my uninvited guest who seemed to be momentarily stunned. I had the advantage or so I thought. As I was ready to set up the knockout punch, I was pushed back by an unknown force into the kitchen segment of the room.

My head was spinning and seeing stars. A painful cry escaped from my mouth. I barely noticed the hoody person. The figure was glowing _green? _Okay, we established this wasn't a robbery. But I never would have guessed that I would be a victim of alien abduction. Mostly, when it comes to extraterrestrial, I did always prefer Spielberg's version. It was much more mysterious and gloomy.

_´You preformed quite well.´_ I heard the voice said while the unknown figure helped me up.

My right arm was on fire. The intensity of a pain suggested it was definitely broken.

´_What was this, a fucking test?' I thought_

I could care less anymore. I was in the mercy of whoever this was. I could barely talk. I managed to get up of the floor. I was now standing face to face with my unknown guest. My eyes were full of fear. The body started glow again. I closed my eyes waiting for everything to end. Nothing happened at least, nothing life frightening happened. When I opened my eyes again, I didn't feel my arm hurting anymore.

The room was also mostly repaired at least the door glass was not broken. I looked questionably at my unknown guest. Only to find I was looking into the eyes of a teenaged girl. She couldn't be more than sixteen years old. She had dark brown hair connected into a ponytail. Her dark brown eyes were sizing me up with interest. Her entire being was focused on me as she was trying to read me. It was probably what she was doing anyway. After a minute of nothing more than staring in silence, the girl seemed to relax and smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Andrews. My name's Lara. Do you have a minute to talk?" She asked.

"I guess" I responded.

Being totally lost I didn't know what else to say.

"Do you want some tea? I'm in a mood for tea." I said backing toward the kitchen area.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you." She said sitting down on the couch.

My visitor didn't seem to have any characteristics of a teenager. They were perfectly hidden under the soldier\ business exterior. No matter what she wanted with me I knew it's going to be big. Since, she hadn't killed me considering the number opportunities she had. Which was kind of comforting, as yet very frightening to me at the same time.

"So what exactly do you want from me?" I asked when I finally was finished with the serving.

"What do you know about Mass Effect?" She replied.

I simply shrug with my shoulders. My knowledge of the game was pretty vague. I never actually played it. I only saw my friends play it once or twice. I knew that the game supposed to be about choice. It was a trilogy story about character called Shepard. I also knew about some controversy aside from that was it.

"It is a pretty hyped third person shooter with some RPG elements." I quickly said recalling that information from pamphlet I saw. "The story is about saving a galaxy…Yady, yady, yada."

I was now curious where this discussion was going to go as I sipped my tea.

"What if I told you, the events of the game are pretty damn real?" Lara said without missing a beat.

I nearly burned my tongue hearing that.

"That may not be to surprising, especially after what I experienced. It still doesn't explain why do you need me?" I said calmly while inside I was nothing of the sort.

Laura's face darkened as I spoke.

"I come from the world where the protagonist did choose the synthesis with the enemy. The Green ending as many call it here. I was born short after that decision was made. Thanks to the level of exposure my mom experienced. I have certain abilities along with improved genetic code. Because of it I survived. It didn't save my family though." She commented.

"I understand that part but I still do not see the point where I come in." I hummed.

Even though that the story was quite engaging and I felt for the girl. I still couldn't figure out what had all this got to do with me.

"I can travel to any period of time. I can see the past, future and present with number of outcomes" She said.

Lara finished her story with shaking hands putting the cup on the table.

Even with this ability, we are still slaves, shell of our former self, just the Husks in yet another closing circle." She concluded.

"If you have this…this time travel ability, why don't you just you stop Shepard when it's time?" I asked feeling dumb stuck.

I was having a conversation about time travel with a girl from another universe. Slowly I came to realization that I might need something stronger than a tea. I braced myself.

"If I did that I would be dead before I could do anything. It is one flaw of the synthesis. This is why I came to you. You are the best candidate." My time traveling _friend _clarified.

"I highly doubted it." I said being skeptical of my abilities.

The words left my mouth meaning to be sarcastic. It was more like a spat. She looked dispassionately at me.

"I've ran through all possible solutions. You're or to clarify your lack of belief in yourself not an issue…" she stated.

This sentence made me rise up off the couch almost breaking the cup against the table. The words were ringing through my ears.

'…_you're not an issue…'_

What did she mean by that? How does she dare to criticize the way I live my life? I worked hard to get to the point where I was now. I knew it wasn't ideal. Things could always get better. It was this mindset that kept me going. This mindset helped me to overcome any obstacle and challenge. Now this girl appeared to judge me?!

"Who fuck do you think you are? Do you think you know me? Newsflash for you missy I have a life and family. I care about them. If you think you can just barge in here and take me away to do some stupid quest for you then you are wrong!" I finally snapped glaring at my guest.

Family was always tough subject for me and even if we weren't on best terms I loved them very much.

"If you're such family man why didn't you try to fix things?" She responded in firmly matching glare.

"The reason I didn't do it yet because I wanted to prove them wrong!" I was nearly screaming now.

Lara's voice on the other hand was all steady.

"What if I tell you that you have the last chance to do something that matters?" she asked.

My breath now speeded up. Something in her eyes made me realize. She wasn't kidding.

"Are you doing this because you think that I'm expendable?" I asked still outraged.

She stood up as well to face me.

"I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. And perhaps, you will learn to value yourself." She calmly said.

The air started to smell funny. I looked towards the kitchen then back at Lara looking for conformation, while she held my hand.

"Gas leak…?" I asked sniffing the air.

"Yes." Lara confirmed.

"Where…?" I asked again hoping it was not here.

"A neighbor's house…" She replied.

"Damn Richards… You're the one hell of an idiot." I raged.

"Are you ready?" Lara asked.

At this question I only managed to nod. What was more to say? I was asking myself over and over what I did wrong. What I should have done better. I came to the conclusion that I lived my life the best way possible. Only thing I regretted more than anything was the fact that I didn't have the courage to be there for my Mother when I could. I prayed for her to find peace and happiness.

'_Please forgive me…' I thought._

It was my last thought before everything started to spin. Then, there was nothing.


End file.
